All Rise...

Editor's Note

The Charge

"That's how you make crystal meth."—Trevor Moore, singing
a children's song

The Case

Having seen the 2009 "comedy" Miss March—not only one of the
worst films of last year, but one of the worst, most hateful films I've ever
seen—I didn't have much faith in the sketch comedy group The Whitest
Kids U'Know. Its two founding members, the lanky, spastic Trevor Moore and
the frat-boy-handsome Zach Cregger, were not only the two stars of Miss
March but also its writers and co-directors. And if that pair used the money
and resources made available to them by Fox to create Miss March as their
introduction to the mainstream, what would the chances be that The Whitest
Kids U'Know, their cult favorite IFC sketch comedy series, would be any
good?

The answer? It's better than Miss March. I recognize that's not
saying much—my parents' divorce was less painful—but watching the
recently-released DVD of The Whitest Kids U'Know: The Complete Second
Season, I was surprised to find that I didn't hate it. Yes, it's cheap and
indulgent and too impressed with its own crude immaturity and grossness, but
every once in a while there would be an inspired sketch or joke that would carry
me through the rough patches. I laughed enough watching the collection to not
consider a complete wasted of time.

If there's an overriding problem with The Whitest Kids U'Know, it
isn't that it's hit-and-miss—it's that it misses considerably more than it
hits. All sketch comedy is going to be uneven; that's the nature of the format.
But The Whitest Kids—made up of Moore, Cregger, Sam Brown, Darren
Trumeter, and Timmy Williams, who perform all the roles including the
females—have a tendency to embrace their worst instincts too often. That
means childish gross-out and scatological humor that often masquerades as
"edginess," and sketches which extend way beyond their shelf life.
Sometimes, pushing a joke past its breaking point works: a piece involving
mountain climbing, nude photography and a diamond thief goes on and on until its
absurdity becomes funny. Unfortunately, the Kids are too self-indulgent
to know when to quit, and the same sketch continues on for nearly double the
length (it literally takes a detour into Hell) and what once made it work is
lost. Still, there are those flashes where the show is working which help keep
it watchable throughout all 10 episodes—even when a sketch isn't funny,
you know there will be another one soon, providing a blank slate every couple of
minutes. And I'll give this to The Whitest Kids U'Know: they have a clear
and consistent comic voice that's entirely their own. Even if I didn't always
respond to that voice, it's an achievement that shouldn't be dismissed too
easily.

Now, of course, there are those will say that I'm way off base and that
The Whitest Kids U'Know are doing the edgiest, most subversive and
funniest sketch comedy around today. Doesn't make me wrong. Like the late, great
Gene Siskel used to say, you cannot convince another person of what is sexy and
what is funny, and if watching an entire season didn't convince me that they're
the best thing going in sketch comedy right now, no amount of whining is likely
to change my mind. I'm a big believer that there's comedy out there for
everyone; just because The Whitest Kids U'Know isn't for me doesn't mean
it's not for you. On the other hand, if you're someone who has read my reviews
with any kind regularity and find yourself agreeing with me more often than not,
you may want to consider taking my word for it. That is, after all, the function
of the critic.

What were we talking about?

Right. The Whitest Kids U'Know: The Complete Second Season comes to
DVD courtesy of E1 (labeled as "Uncut and Uncensored," but the show
runs on IFC, so how censored can it really be? This is the channel that shows Bad Lieutenant every other night) in
a disappointing two-disc package. For starters, two discs are wholly
unnecessary; there are only 10 episodes running about 20-21 minutes apiece.
There's no reason they couldn't fit on a single disc. What's worse it that the
1.85:1 transfer isn't anamorphic. It's 2010, and that's not really acceptable
any more. The future is now, guys. If I have to watch The Whitest Kids
U'Know at all, I'd rather not do it through a small little window box in the
big ass TV. That's why there's the big ass TV. The Dolby 2.0 stereo audio track
is fine but mixed a little low and muddy; I found myself turning on the
subtitles just to be sure I wasn't missing anything.

Commentary tracks from the "Kids" have been included on all 10 of
the episodes. They're busy and jokey and a little self-satisfied, not dealing
much with actual production information. However, if you're a fan of the group
and their brand of humor, chances are you'll have a good time with the
commentaries. No one else should bother. Plus, the original show audio is still
rather pronounced in the mix during the commentaries, so it all just kind of
blends together and makes the commentaries downright unlistenable. Additionally,
there's a "sneak peek" at Season Three and a nearly half-hour
collection of pieces from the Kids' first season on Fuse when they were edited
for content, called "The Best of Season One." Each of those sketches
comes with an introduction from the Kids. If you enjoy their comedy, there's no
reason you won't enjoy these, too.